History

The turning point of Nazi-Fascism under Mussolini’s leadership begins at the end of 1942, when the battle of El-Alamein (Egypt) was won by the Allies. After the Ally invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943, Mussolini called an extraordinary session of theGran Consiglio del Fascismo (Great Counsil of Fascism) where he conceded to a motion calling for his dismissal. The morning following this surprising event, Mussolini approached King Vittorio Emanuele III for support. Instead, the king had Mussolini arrested and appointed Pietro Badoglio, Field Marshal of the Italian army, as the new prime minister.

Italy was ecstatic at this turn of events and celebrated by destroying statues of Mussolini and partying in the streets. Italians believed that the overthrow of Mussolini indicated, along with Fascism, that the war was over. However, Badoglio quickly quelled this notion and the new government under King Vittorio undertook a risky and ambiguous political strategy - simultaneously assuring the Germans of their continued allegiance, while beginning peace negotiations with the Allies.

This proved to be an ill-fated choice. In the following weeks the Nazis sent additional divisions into Italy, ostensibly to shore up the front line in Sicily, but instead disbursed troops throughout the peninsula and occupied Italy. The Germans then began a campaign of vengeance against the population, targeting the people and villages where they suspected aid and support were being given to help or hide partisans. Refusing to consider either captured partisans or former Italian troops who had been charged with desertion as “Prisoners of War”, in accordance with the Geneva Convention, the Germans would torture or execute them without due process.

The Armistice between Italy and the allies was signed on September 3rd, but the Italian government delayed the announcement until the 8th, and then only after the Allies and General Eisenhower threatened widespread bombing of Italy. Badoglio made the announcement by radio but, rather than declaring Germany a hostile country, he vaguely said that the Italian Army “will react against attacks from any other origin,” and he failed to organize any military action as the Germans began to occupy Italy, from the north to Naples. He and the king, along with the ministers and the court subsequently fled to Brindisi, a city already liberated by the Allies in the southeast of Italy. This was considered by many Italians to be an unforgivable act of betrayal.

After the Armistice, the Italian Army was disbanded and the Germans ordered all Italian soldiers to report for conscription into a German controlled Italian force. Those who chose not to comply were arrested and interred. Over 600,000 Italian soldiers were sent to concentration camps, where 42,000 died. The initial acts of resistance at that time, by soldiers and civilians, were spontaneous and improvised, forming the seeds of the organized Resistance. The intensification of the German occupation, forced many in the Resistance to survive in remote locations under extremely adverse conditions.Nine months after the signing of the Armistice, the Allies broke the Gustav Line and liberated Rome in June 1944. In the North, the Germans held the Gothic Line well until April 1945. During this time the Resistance and the OSS played a crucial role.